Daylily Soup goes to Illinois!

Hi Friends,

I must warn you, this post is being created totally from my phone, so I'm not quite sure how the final post will look. I just got a new phone since the old one decided it didn't want to perform as a phone anymore, and am unable to upload photos for use on my blog as I used to. The former phone just didn't want to ring when someone called (now, that's a problem). Anyway, I recently took a trip to Illinois where I braved the snow and ice complete with a winter storm. It was quite pretty but I am so glad to be back in Alabama (yes, I've become a sissy when it comes to cold weather). The beach is the place for me! Hope you enjoy some of my photos from my little adventure. All the best, friends! :-)

View from the rental car line ...

At the hotel ...

This view wasn't my cup of tea ... homesickness was setting in but I would persevere ... :-)

Winter storm on the way ... supposed to fly out the next morning at 6:00 a.m.

My view before the de-icing!

Back home again ... southern sunset. :-)

My Recent Travels - Part II (Lake Tahoe, Reno & Carson City, NV)

These are a few photos from the second half of my recent travels.  If you have a few minutes, I'd love to share these with you.  After our work was finished in Modesto, California, we were off to Reno, Nevada while seeing some beautiful sights along the way.  Here we go ...

Still in California ...

Lake Tahoe Beach View - California Side

I'd never seen Lake Tahoe before.  Wow!  It was beautiful!  Rocks are some of my favorite souvenirs, so I picked up a few precious rocks from the water near the dock on the left side of the pic. 

I enjoyed a delicious scoop of home made peppermint ice cream while standing here.  I was amazed with the color of the water;  such a beautiful blue! :-)

Lovely Lake Tahoe

Lovely Lake Tahoe

Reno, Nevada

I do believe Reno is the biggest little city in the world.  It was all dressed up at night with glitter and glitz!

Sagebrush

Fernando, who is a local, told me sagebrush is the Nevada state flower.  No daylilies around here!  However, I did notice some beautiful lavender growing, but wasn't able to snap a pic.

On the way to Virginia City

We were finished with work early on the last day of our trip, so we took a little drive to Virginia City, which is where Bonanza was filmed.

Along the way to Virginia City

Along the way, I bought jalapeno peanut brittle and jalapeno salt water taffy to take home.  Apparently, I'm the only one who has developed a "taste" for it (most of it is still sitting on the counter). It does have quite a KICK!

Interesting ... don't know how I took such a crooked photo ... I'm still not sure it's the photo that's crooked.

 Maybe this is the result of too much jalapeno peanut brittle (I had to sample it)! lol

Virginia City

 Here we are in Virginia City - the Wild West!

Local Shop in Virginia City

Leaving Virginia City

Leaving Virginia City

This is beautiful.  I just wish I'd never watched "The Hills Have Eyes."  I tried not to think about that crazy movie!  I picked up some precious souvenir rocks here too. :-)

One the way back to Reno ...

 

Hope you all have a great week! :-)

My Recent Travels - Part I (San Francisco, California & Modesto, California)

I recently went on a whirlwind trip (business), but managed to see some lovely sights along the way.  As usual, I snapped lots of photos.  Here are some pics from the first half of the trip, which I'd love to share with you if you have a few minutes:

After landing in Oakland, we went straight to Pier 39 in San Francisco, California (one of my FAVORITE places) where we managed to see quite a bit in a short while. 

Pier 39 Entrance - San Francisco, California

Love this crazy crab!

Boudin Bakery - San Francisco, California

 Famous for their sourdough bread, a portion of the original 1849 mother dough is still used in each loaf of sourdough bread baked at Boudin's.

Boudin Bakery - San Francisco, California

Boudin Bakery, San Francisco, California

They bake more than sourdough bread here ... these cookies caught my eye.

Pier 39 Farmers Market - San Francisco, California

I noticed similar super California strawberries approximately 17 years ago on my first visit to San Francisco with my husband during which I fell in love with the city, and have remained smitten ever since (as some of you already know). On my first visit, I didn't sample any of these luscious looking strawberries, so I corrected that on this trip (they had the cutest little sinks at the market to wash the fruit in).  These plum sized strawberries were the best I've ever tasted!  I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was standing on Pier 39 in my beloved San Francisco while tasting them. :-)

 Pretty Mixed Planter on The Pier

You can count on me to spot the flowers ...

The Enlightenment Shop

The Sock Market

 Like the catchy name... and the pretty hanging baskets.

The Sock Market

The Crystal Shop - Pier 39

 I loved these jellyfish paperweights.  

Maybe Santa will bring one this year. :-)

Another Beautiful Planter - Pier 39

The blue flowers are such a striking color.  

Does anyone know what they are?

Pier 39 - San Francisco, California

I thought this was a beautiful view.  The weather was also beautiful.  It was 66 degrees in San Francisco during our short visit.  After a couple of hours at The Pier, we were off to Modesto, California where there was much work to be done.

I snapped this photo while having breakfast in Modesto at The Mediterranean Market & Grill when I realized this striking flower was fresh!  Oh, my goodness!  How stunning!  Once I had my "flower fix," I was set for the day.

I'll post "My Recent Travels, Part II" soon.  I'm off to finish unpacking my bags (my steamer trunk ... lol).

 

Hope you're all having a great weekend! :-)

The Country Club - This is Where the Wild Things Are!

I just visited the exclusive Country Club my husband belongs to otherwise known as The Hunting Club. Let's go visit where the wild things are.  Here we go ...

Clay Based Dirt Road

To avoid getting stranded out here, and having to survive on dandelion roots and greens while finding one's way out of the 1,400 acre "woods," I recommend traveling in a SUV, pick-up truck, jeep, tank, etc.  There is cell phone coverage in "most places" out here ... Hm-mm,  cell phone coverage in most places;  once again, the thought of dandelion roots and greens crosses my mind even though we're in a SUV, and I have a Kashi bar in my purse (yes, my purse is really with me ... and my cell phone).  I forgot my snake boots though (snake-proof boots, that is - not glamorous python boots)!  I am now wondering "What have I done?" ... "Do I really belong here?"  I lose all composure when surprised by a deadly snake ... 

Country Church

I spotted this lovely church right off of the dirt road.  

What a hidden treasure!

Deeper into the woods we go.

Time to start dropping bread crumbs...

Hunting Club Headquarters - Cabin

Here we are at headquarters.  The club is pretty much abandoned for the summer. Mr. DS hunts out here during deer and turkey season.  Personally, I don't like hunting but he tells me the deer population has to be controlled.  The turkeys and deer out here are very crafty, and are very hard to find.  I'm on team deer and team turkey. ;-)

Headquarters Front Porch

I feel like I'm infiltrating a secret society.  I keep looking for the "No Girls Allowed" sign ...  Actually, one of the wives of one of the other Country Club members hunts here and is very good at it.

Window Full of Character

Hunting Cabin

I'm in!
Everything is so nice and neat!

Hunting Cabin

Hunting Cabin

Is this a scene from The Walking Dead?

Some of the members just leave their own campers out here all year, so they're just set to go during hunting season.  It's like a little village right around the headquarters.  I made the mistake of watching The Walking Dead once or twice.  This seemed like a scene from that show, and I began to think about zombies.  At least I had my pistol nearby (in my Sequoia and I wasn't far from it).  INSANITY!  Why would I even watch something like that?  I swore off horror movies years ago.  Anyway, back more pleasant thoughts ...

One of the many ponds out here.  

I spotted a few wild things out here but they 

don't stand around long enough for a photo.  

No posing out here!

Corn Plant

Corn Field

The fields are also planted with cotton, sorghum, wheat and soybeans.

Spanish Moss

The trees have eyes!

I've seen The Hills Have Eyes.  Now the trees?
 This is scary!

 Or, is this one of those trees from The Wizard of Oz?

O.K., this one wasn't really out there ... lol.

Wild Thing ?

Blank Canvas

Back to the future ...

:-)